There are two important new laws in California. The first, related to AB-1242, is designed to protect companies from having to respond to out-of-state search warrants that look to obtain abortion data. This will be relevant to the many internet and telecommunications based in the state and is part of a move to establish California as a sanctuary for abortion seekers. The second, AB 2089, is meant to protect patient mental health data not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), particularly via the 20,000 or more online apps offering services based on probable diagnoses. Many harvest and then sell sensitive data that patients provide, but this would no longer be allowed.

The U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have issued a Notice of Intent, covering a period between 2018-2020, to Chinese-owned TikTok, which means a likely significant fine. In this case that could be as high as £27 million ($29 million), depending on determinations about violation of privacy regulation. TikTok may have committed multiple infractions, including processing data of underage children without parental consent, accessing specially protected information on race or ethnicity, and collecting biometric data without legitimate cause to do so. Depending on the regulator’s determination, cost could be quite high.